1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutter blade or cutter head arrangement by means of which logs are reduced to timber, the cutter blade including at least one knife element mounted on the head periphery adjacent a recess or gullet in the blade, so as to form a space.
2. History of the Related Art
Normally, a number of such cutting blades are assembled to form rotary cutter assemblies which are intended to remove simultaneously from several sides of the log such that should not be included in the processed timber. Simultaneously formed are wood dust, chips or other wood particles that can be used directly without needing to install a separate chip-cutting or chip-breaking machine. The entire log is converted, in this way, to timber and wood chips or shavings without requiring further processing.
In one known construction of a cutting blade of this kind, the knife or knives is/are inserted in a recess in the cutter head and are held firmly in position by a knife holder in the form of a fixed bracing structure which grips over a shoulder on the knife. This fixed bracing structure is mounted in the chip-accommodating space or gullet in the cutter blade and bolted thereto.
One drawback with this known design is that the knife holder mounted in the chip-accommodating space is subject to wear by the passing chips and is liable to be damaged to an extent which makes it difficult to loosen the knife holder thereby making a knife exchange difficult to effect.
It is also difficult to reach the bolt that is located between the cutter blades and which holds the knife holder in the chip-accommodation recess or gullet.